What You Really Mean To Me
by SoaringEagle11
Summary: When Kali leaves the gang to find Jane again, an old enemy stands in her way.


Kali awoke. It was still night. Dottie, Axel, Mick, and Funshine were still asleep. She went into the room that her sister, Jane, had been sleeping in, until she realized that she was no longer there. A tear slipped from her eye as she thought of the way Jane had suddenly abandoned her, then wiped it away quickly.

She couldn't show weakness. However, as she glanced at the empty space where Jane had once slept, wonder crept through her mind. Where was the adventurous girl now? Could she possibly find her?

 _I can't leave though. My friends need me._

But she couldn't deny the fact that she wanted to know where Jane was. Her heart was telling her that she wanted- no, _needed_ \- to find her again.

"I won't tell anyone where I'm going," she whispered to herself. "But I need to know that she's okay."

Quietly, she exited the room and slipped out of the alley.

 _Oh my God..._ Even at night, the city was bustling with activity. She walked along the road for about an hour before realizing she had no protection, Leaning against the wall of an old building, she attempted to use her powers to create a camouflage cover around her. However, she hadn't tried to do that before and her nose began to bleed even more as she tried valiantly to use it, but she did not have much strength and soon, pain took over her body and she slumped against the wall, hastily wiping the blood off her face.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a voice cackled suddenly above her. Kali looked up in surprise. "Who are you?"

"You don't recognize me?" Whoever it was pulled her near a streetlight, still sitting up against the wall, and then she saw her. It was someone from one of the rival gangs near them. In fact, it was the most vicious person in the whole group- Mabita, an dangerous African girl with a hateful desire to steal and kill. She had always hated Kali more than most though and had tried to murder her more times than once.

"Mabita, what are you doing out here this late at night?"

"I could ask you the same thing. But isn't this dangerous?" She smirked, pulling a knife from her belt and resting it against Kali's throat. "You could get yourself killed out here..."

"I'm looking for my sister."

"You mean that shave-head girl who I saw leaving your camp a few days ago?" Mabita laughed. "I can't believe you let her stay even for a little while. That worthless bitch-"

Something snapped inside Kali and she let out a roar, throwing herself at Mabita. However, Mabita had predicted that her words would cause this and was ready for the attack. She sidestepped her, knife in hand, and thrust it into Kali's arm. Kali turned around again and yanked it out, aiming carefully as she tossed it back toward her enemy. However, she underestimated Mabita's nimbleness and the girl easily dodged it. All of a sudden, she disappeared.

"What?" Kali blinked in surprise, then gasped as she felt herself being forced to the ground. Her legs were swept out from under her and she crashed against the pavement.

" _Never_ underestimate me," Mabita whispered, twisting Kali's arms behind her expertly as she slowly sank the knife into her back. That was deliberate, knowing that it would cause Kali even more pain. The dagger was also exceptionally long and sharp.

"STOP!" she cried, leaving Mabita to laugh maniacally; they both knew Kali was powerless to stop what was happening to her.

"Will you forget about Jane if I do?"

"N- never..."

Mabita slowly pulled the weapon out of the gash it had made and no sooner had her target taken another breath that it was quickly slicing through her back once more.

 _I can't take it any longer. I- I'm sorry, Jane..._

And Kali finally let out a scream of pain.

"YES!" Knowing that she had succeeded in making her cry out at last, Mabita lifted the knife once more, ready to aim for Kali's neck and silence her forever. Kali closed her eyes, trembling as she awaited the final blow.

It never came. She opened her eyes again and looked up to see Mabita's arm still hanging in midair, her face red as if she was trying to push it down. All of a sudden, she went flying backward, slamming against a streetlight and crumpling unconscious against the ground, her knife clattering down beside her.

 _It can't be..._

But there she was, her non-biological sister, Jane Hopper, standing in front of her with one hand outstretched, a bit of blood dripping from her nose. But it was nothing compared to how much blood was currently flowing from Kali's body. Jane cautiously stepped over to her.

"Jane..." Kali murmured anxiously. "Thank you..."

"Sister... I wanted to come back. I needed you."

"Well... it was still a waste of time. I- I'm going to die."

"Not if I can help it." Jane pushed Kali down on her stomach and stretched her hand out toward her back. She didn't even know what she was doing until she felt Jane's power surging through her in order to make her heal. However, the overwhelming amount of power Jane was using was extremely painful on her and she clawed aimlessly at the ground as it engulfed her completely.

"Just freeze!" In addition to the agonizing healing power, more power was added in order to stop her thrashing around. Tears dripped from Kali's brown eyes.

"Hey!" Jane's power was pulled away from her sister as Mabita recovered herself and her blow nearly cut into her before she was able to dodge it. Mabita angrily slammed herself on top of Kali, pinning her beneath her. "You won't be getting away from me so easily!"

"Get... off!" Kali snapped, trying to push Mabita away. But the African girl's weight pressed down on her too much, preventing her from getting away. Mabita placed her dagger against the back of Kali's neck, slowly pressing into her skin. "Say goodbye, my little friend."

But once more, Mabita was thrown back by Jane's power, this time sent to the roof of a building. Jane ran over to her sister once more and used as much power as she could to try to help her survive again.

All of a sudden, Kali was swept away into darkness and her pain vanished. Right in front of her, glowing with light, was her old self when she was young, with long black braids and a curious face. Next to her was a clone of what she currently looked like. But as Kali watched, that version of her was transformed into what Mabita had done to her. Blood coated her body, streaming violently from her back, and her face no longer looked free and joyful, but was tearful and scared.

 _So this is what Mabita has done to me._

The agony inside her returned, burning painfully as she was brought back to the real world.

"Jane... when will you be able to stop?"

As if her own words had caused this, Kali felt the rising pain slow down and opened her eyes to see Jane kneeling down beside her.

"You will be okay, sister," she sighed.

Kali smiled weakly. "I wonder how Mabita will react when she manages to get down from where she is."

Jane smiled too and just as she did, Kali's world began to spin again. Now she knew that even though her sister had healed her, the blood loss had been high and now she felt extremely weak. Once more, she closed her eyes and pain flared inside her again as she felt her head hit the pavement. Jane shrieked in surprise and Kali tried to reach out toward her, but her hand fell limply next to her as darkness overcame her.

 _No... I can't be dead..._

Deep down inside, she thought she was dead and was heartbroken that this would be Jane's last memory of her, but then she woke up again, safe inside the place her sister had slept in before, with Jane at her side, whispering that she would never let her go again.

"I'm sorry, Jane," Kali murmured, wrapping her arms around her sister. "I love you."


End file.
